Convenience store 7-Eleven said on the 29th that it has completely revamped the beans and cups for its private brand (PB) Seven Cafe.
Seven Cafe is the best-selling PB product at 7-Eleven. It is also the first brewed coffee brand in convenience stores, first introduced in 2015. As the industry's only fully automatic "drip method" extraction coffee, it brews each cup using a paper filter, which traps oils and fine particles to deliver a clean taste.
With coffee shops increasing recently and interest growing among consumers in specialty coffee, origins, and roasting methods, 7-Eleven revamped the beans and cups of Seven Cafe, its flagship PB product, to strengthen competitiveness.
The beans for the revamped "All New Seven Cafe" were expanded from four to six in line with the rising coffee trend favoring the nutty flavor and strong body of beans from Latin American origins. The six varieties are top-grade Brazil (NY2) and Colombia (Supremo) as the base, plus Honduras, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Using a dark roasting method, it highlights the toasty and deep flavors of Kakao, dark chocolate, and peanuts.
In addition to the beans, 7-Eleven refreshed the Seven Cafe packaging. It applied 7-Eleven's key brand colors—green (regular cup) and orange (large cup)—to the front of the cups, and, using the "three stripes" motif symbolizing 7-Eleven's identity, gave the cup holder a dynamic and trendy design.
For this Seven Cafe revamp, 7-Eleven, Lotte Central Research Institute, and LOTTE Wellfood collaborated for about a year. Lotte Central Research Institute conducted a survey to analyze consumer demand, identifying the optimal bean blend and roasting stage, while LOTTE Wellfood tracked bean trends and purchasing patterns and secured origin contracts at optimal prices. 7-Eleven oversaw the project, selected the final beans by reflecting consumer and expert opinions, and established sales strategies including packaging and promotions.